The Doctor - A Dead by Daylight Short
by LyricalWhisper
Summary: How do you escape a killer than can warp and destroy your own mind?


I worked steadily on repairing a generator. I was in the dark blue woods again. So far I hadn't seen anyone else in this trial. A large water tower moaned above my head, creaking and grumbling so loud I was afraid it would collapse on me at any moment.

I felt my fingers go numb. Small but visible sparks leapt up from the ground, traveling up my torso and bouncing across my hands. My heart sank. Fear bubbled up deep in my stomach. He was one of the worst ones to go up against.

Some of the erratic sparks bounced into the generator, overloading the circuits and causing a blowout. Debris flew into my face, leaving small cuts wherever metal made contact with flesh. I flinched back, covering my eyes while cursing under my breath. He will know my location now. I didn't stay to recover the damage.

I sprinted across the dark woods towards a small distant shack. The sparks followed my footsteps, always curling around my fingertips. They danced around my toes as the world slowly started to twist. My terror engulfed me as the trees grew taller, curling over me until I couldn't see an end to them through the thick fog. Their roots burst out of the ground, clawing through the dirt towards my legs. I hopped and stumbled around them as more and more surrounded me. One caught my ankle, and I lost my footing, slamming into the ground. As I landed, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from my throat.

_Shit, shit!_ I immediately leapt up from the ground, running faster than before. My ankle throbbed, threatening to give out beneath me. The angry roots followed, snapping at my heels. The sound of my heartbeat drummed louder, pulsing faster and faster, signalling his approach. It was deafening in my ears. I reached the shack and ran inside, the tree roots retracting back into the dirt as I crossed the wooden threshold.

He stood right in front of me. I screeched to a halt, breath caught in my throat.

His eyes were peeled open, forever clamped and staring wide-eyed at his victims. His bloated fingers clenched the bloodied metal spear filled with rusted spikes. The sparks that danced around my toes sang across his entire body, sending pulsing shock-waves out every second. His lips curled back at the sight of me, and I stared frozen on the spot as they continued to peel, tugging the rest of the skin on his face away from his mouth. The flimsy flesh melted on contact with the sparks and fell to the ground, leaving a mass of wriggling, bloody muscle exposed. I screamed again, stumbling backwards as the apparition suddenly vanished from my sight. I whipped around to see the real Doctor running into the shack, coming right at me.

_RUN!_ My mind screamed. I flew in the opposite direction, not daring to look back. My legs carried me faster than I knew I was capable of, powered by the most visceral horrors imaginable. Every second a flash, and he was there, sneering at me, laughing. My head whipped left and right, zigzagging away from each new apparition that frightened me, keeping me from any opportune hiding spots or escape routes. And each one slowed me down ever so slightly, allowing him to steadily catch up to me.

I knew he could see them too. His own shadows, capable of indirect death by becoming a physical beacon that draws the real Doctor right to me. Another flash, another apparition, and a bolt of lightning jolted down my spine, evoking another scream from within me. An auditory beacon, pinpointing my exact location. I couldn't lose him.

His red stain bounced off my toes. My breath hitched. He was nearly within striking distance. I tried to speed up, but I was too drained. I couldn't do it. He was going to catch me. I had to find an escape.

_There!_ Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a window into an abandoned building. One his apparitions missed. If I could make it, I could hopefully break line of sight long enough to escape. I veered to the left, using the last of my energy to sprint to my safe haven. I reached the opening and planted my hand on the edge, vaulting through the window.

Not fast enough.

I howled as his rusty spear slashed across my back, dragging the spikes through flesh and muscle and ripping a large gash across my spine. I managed to put some distance between us as he relished in my pain, his sharp, cackling laughter trailing behind me. I barely made it to the next open exit and around the building's corner before collapsing. I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun him if he followed me.

I was in luck. Another survivor's nearby screams finally drew him away from me. My hands shaking, stifling a groan of pain, I pulled myself off the ground. I needed to find something, anything, to help mend the wound before I completely collapsed from blood loss. It was then, glancing around, that I heard the whispers. Softly in my ears, they spoke unintelligible words. A startling cold sensation filled my body.

The basement was nearby. A nightmare of a place. It always seems to appear, regardless of the location we were thrust in. It is the last place I would ever want to be.

But it may hold the supplies I need.

There was another small, open window nearby. I slowly made my way to it, crouching low to the ground in case I was still within his line of sight. I crawled through the opening and felt the whispers curl around my ear, subconsciously turning my head to the left. Just a few feet away lay the foreboding entrance, dark stairs descending into the abyss.

The basement was certain death if you were caught or trapped down there. With only one way in and out, it was nearly impossible to escape once you've entered. The place feels like a being of it's own, no doubt closely linked with the entity that traps us all here. In some ways, it's worse than any of the killers we are pitted against.

_Desperate times._ I could feel the blood streaming out of my open wound. My vision was blurring at the edges, my mind feeling hazy. I was out of options. I took a deep breath, and plunged into the darkness, making my way slowly and carefully down the ancient staircase.

I turned the corner and stared at the sight. Hollow screams echoed through the walls stained red with the blood of the room's countless victims. I felt a chill run down my spine, wind blowing through my hair; although, there shouldn't be any wind this far below the ground. My breath hitched as the nearest of a circle of hooks swung slowly in the invisible wind, a haunting creaky noise piercing my eardrums with each swing. Dried blood spattered across the rusty metal was visible from a distance. My chest ached from a familiar phantom pain at the sight of them.

My head whipped to the nearby lockers, a small gasp escaping my lips. They shivered, terrifying whispers and distant shrieks leaking out of the top vents. I cautiously edged forward, straining to hear any sounds from a living being. The sounds died down as I rested my hand against the cold metal, and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I quickly scoured the room for signs of supplies.

_Yes!_ A small, muddy chest rested in the far corner of the room. I rushed past the hooks and dropped to my knees in front of it. A putrid smell emanated from something within the chest, and I struggled to suppress my nausea. My fingers trembling, I disengaged the broken lock and lifted the lid.

Some twisted fortune smiled upon me again. There was a small medkit inside the chest of junk. I yanked it out and quickly spilled its contents on the floor. Gauze, bandages, alcohol, and I counted another blessing at the sight of a small syringe filled with glowing blue liquid. I grabbed that first, quickly rolling up my sleeve while pulling off the protective cap. I shoved the needle into my arm, gasping as a comforting cool sensation filled my bloodstream.

I grasped the alcohol bottle next, dumping its contents down my back while catching a handful to sterilize the cuts on my face. The syringe was doing its job; nearly all of the pain had dulled and numbed, making it much easier to focus and keep quiet. As quickly and carefully as possible, I wrapped the gauze tightly around my torso, securing it with a tied knot in front.

As I finished gathering the supply scraps back into the kit, I heard the whispers deep in the back of my mind grow louder. I froze for a moment before remembering. I forced myself to move faster. I had been down here too long. I'd heard stories of what prolonged exposure to the basement's influence did to people. Coupled with the Doctor's madness, I feared the permanent damage to my psyche would be enough to put me in a state worse than death, or better yet, worse than the trials.

I shoved the rest of the contents back in the chest and turned around, leaping up from the ground. A sudden scream pierced through the air, far louder than humanly possible. I doubled over, clutching my ears and clenching my teeth shut, desperate not to join in. Something warm dripped down my fingers, and a dull ringing rose in my left ear. I pulled my fingers forward; they were dark red, dripping blood. I had burst an eardrum.

I shrank back in fear as the walls grew taller, curling in around me. My vision twisted, sparks dancing across my face, and I stifled a scream as the spiky tendrils of the Entity crawled out of the ground beneath the hooks, worming its way up the metal shaft and extending claw-like appendages towards me. I was cornered. _Run._

I tried to run to the exit. _Too slow_. Each step seemed to move me further from the staircase, and the faster I ran, the faster it shrunk into the distance. I could hear growling, first behind me, then moving to my sides and in front of me until it seemed the sound was coming from the entire room. The growls morphed into laughter, and I felt the tendrils wrap around my torso, pinning my hands to my sides and yanking me off the ground. I struggled, only tightening the grip on me until I could barely breathe. _No! _The tendrils pulled me back and farther up into the air -

My destination glimmered in my eye as the horrible thought flashed through my brain. _It's going to sacrifice me._ I struggled harder, terror gripping me harder than the tendrils, icing my veins. I opened my mouth, another involuntary scream shattering the walls -

The tendrils let go and I fell to the floor. I looked up to see the last of them sink through the floor, leaving no trace. The stairs stood normally to my left, just out of arm's reach. The low drum of the heartbeat started up, steadily growing louder and faster.

_Go, now!_

I shot out of the basement, veering to the right and through the same window I had entered. As my feet touched grass, gory images flashed through my mind: the other survivors, beaten and tortured and sacrificed in visceral and hideous ways. The horrible hallucinations kept flashing, each one worse than the last until I stumbled an fell to the ground, clutching my head and praying they would end soon. My body shuttered, stomach twisting at the sights until I was sure I would be sick. Then they stopped.

I forced myself up from the ground. _Keep moving. _A strange sense of recognition filled me. _Visions, not hallucinations_. I strained my ears for signs of other survivors, but heard nothing besides the quiet whistle of the wind. There were no longer screams piercing the air alongside my own. _How long was I down there?_ It couldn't have been for more than a few minutes. Right?

But it didn't matter now. Everyone else was dead, whisked to another trial, or the campsite, if they were lucky. That means there was no one to help me here. No one to distract the Doctor, or drag me to safety after being attacked. I was alone.

And he knew exactly where I was.

My only chance was the hatch. Just as mysterious as the basement, though while the basement is a being of despair, the hatch is a being of hope. Only showing up at the last possible minute, offering that enticing sliver of survival when all remaining options have been exhausted. Spewing a dark black smoke with a haunting, yet strangely beautiful melody. Nothing beats the rush of happiness and relief like hearing the lock of the hatch click open right next to you.

The only problem is when you don't hear that click. And I didn't hear it.

I cursed under my breath. It could be anywhere. That sliver of hope, while prominent, is still the smallest sliver the Entity could grant. The melody only travels so far, and in a large forest like this one, finding it before the Doctor catches me is almost impossible.

My only chance is to run and pray I come across it.

I sprinted as fast as I could through the trees, frantically searching for any sign of smoke or song. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up; the Doctor wasn't far behind me. The sparks around my toes lit up again, and a blinding red light stretched out in front of me, laying a path of red that grew more and more intense to the point where I couldn't see. I shielded my eyes with my arm, trying to squint past the light, straining my ears for the hatch's song.

My leg caught something I couldn't see, and I screamed as I fell, twisting my ankle so hard I swore I could hear the bone crack. I crashed onto the ground, and as soon as I made contact with the dirt, the red stain vanished, leaving me in equal blindness to the sudden black of night. The only light I could see where the white sparks dancing up my legs.

I pulled myself up, trying to escape, failing. The sparks traveled further, numbing my limbs, slowing me down. They twirled across my chest and around my arms, snaking up my neck. They were everywhere. They clouded my vision, I couldn't see past them, I could _feel_ them behind my eyes, scorching and electrifying. I screamed involuntarily, stumbling blind, clutching my eyes, nearly gouging them out with my nails. They singed my mouth. I could taste blood on my tongue. I could feel it running down my throat, taking the sparks with it. They traveled down into my stomach, cooking me from the inside. The pain was overwhelming.

He cackled in satisfaction. It was a horrible sound. The hideous cackling continued, first emanating from his mouth before ricocheting around my brain, growing louder and louder, deafening. I stumbled into the dirt, clenching my ears so hard I could tear them off. I couldn't hear my own screaming over the laughter, but I could feel my vocal cords tear and shred from the abuse.

I was ripped from the sound as he grabbed me from behind, throwing me backwards several feet into a brick wall. My back cracked against it, driving the last of my breath and my screams from me. I crumpled onto the ground, unable to breath, trying desperately to gasp for air. I reached out in front of me, digging my hand into the dirt, trying to pull my broken body to safety. But there was nowhere left to go.

Through watery eyes I saw his boots as he walked past me, and heard him step over my body, positioning himself above my head. A burst of thunder from the sparks twisting into life in his hands signaled my end. I closed my eyes.

He crouched down, holding his hands on either side of my head as he blasted concentrated electricity into my brain. I could no longer consciously process my screaming, or taste the blood of my shredded vocal chords, or hear the sound and smell of my own flesh being cooked on the spot. With my last fleeting thoughts, I begged to the Entity for a swift death.

The Entity granted it to me.

I had been blessed with a small mercy, finding myself lying in front of the campfire, a short reprieve granted after the spectacle of the last trial. I quickly sat up and surveyed my body parts for residual damage. As usually, I found nothing. I felt entirely healthy again, physically. Though I'm never granted such a mercy as to forget the memories of each trial I am forced to suffer.


End file.
